September Summary For Fairbanks

What I did last night...

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
611 AM AKDT MON OCT 1 2012

...MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FAIRBANKS ALASKA...

SEPTEMBER WEATHER IN FAIRBANKS WAS LARGELY UNEVENTFUL...WITH
ALTERNATING PERIODS OF WARM AND COOL WEATHER AND WELL BELOW NORMAL
RAINFALL. THE STORM AT MID MONTH THAT BROUGHT DAMAGING WINDS TO
PORTIONS OF THE UPPER TANANA VALLEY WAS NOT NEARLY SO STRONG IN
THE FAIRBANKS AREA.

OVERALL...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WAS
55 DEGREES AND THE AVERAGE LOW 36 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 
FOR SEPTEMBER OF 45.5 DEGREES MADE THIS THE COOLEST SEPTEMBER
SINCE 2004...BUT WAS STILL 0.6 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. THE
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE LAST MONTH WAS 67 DEGREES ON THE 22ND AND THE
LOW OF 26 DEGREES OCCURRED ON THE 13TH AND 30TH. AT THE AIRPORT 
THE FIRST FREEZE OF THE AUTUMN OCCURRED ON THE 8TH...WHICH IS
ALMOST EXACTLY THE LONG TERM AVERAGE DATE OF THE FIRST FREEZING
TEMPERATURE.

FOR THE THIRD MONTH IN A ROW...PRECIPITATION WAS WELL BELOW
NORMAL. JUST 0.55 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT THE AIRPORT...WHICH IS
ONLY HALF OF NORMAL. ABOUT HALF OF THAT SCANT TOTAL FELL ON THE
20TH AND 21ST. FOR JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER THE TOTAL RAINFALL WAS
72 PERCENT OF NORMAL. THIS PERSISTENT DRY WEATHER ALLOWED THE DRY
CREEK FIRE...ON THE FLATS WEST OF EIELSON AFB...TO CONTINUE TO
BURN...ESPECIALLY WHEN FANNED BY GUSTY WINDS. AN UNUSUAL LATE
SEASON THUNDERSTORM RUMBLED ACROSS THE EAST SIDE OF FAIRBANKS
AND IN THE NORTH POLE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON OF THE 9TH...WHEN
SOME SPOTS HAD THE GROUND WHITENED IN HAIL. 

THE ONLY SNOW OF THE MONTH IN TOWN FELL ON MORNING OF THE 30TH.
JUST A TRACE FELL AT THE AIRPORT BUT SOME NEIGHBORHOODS RECEIVED
A SHORT LIVED DUSTING. EVEN IN THE HILLS THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT
ACCUMULATION. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER,,,THE PERMANENT WINTER SNOW PACK IS
ALMOST ALWAYS ESTABLISHED SOMETIME IN OCTOBER. AS A RESULT THE
AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE FALLS 25 DEGREES DURING THE MONTH...FROM
AN AVERAGE OF 36 DEGREES ON THE FIRST TO 11 ABOVE ON HALLOWEEN.
OVER THE PAST 107 YEARS...OCTOBER TEMPERATURES HAVE RANGED FROM 72
DEGREES IN 2003 TO 28 BELOW IN 1935. TOTAL PRECIPITATION AVERAGES
0.83 INCHES. MUCH OF THIS TYPICALLY FALLS AS SNOW...AND SIGNIFICANT
RAINFALL IS RARE AFTER MID-MONTH. NORMAL SNOWFALL IS ABOUT 11
INCHES. THE LAST TIME FAIRBANKS DID NOT HAVE A WHITE HALLOWEEN WAS
IN 1962. RAPIDLY DECREASING POSSIBLE SUNSHINE CONTRIBUTES TO THE
TRANSITION TO WINTER...FALLING FROM 11 HOURS AND 14 MINUTES ON THE
1ST TO 7 HOURS AND 53 MINUTES ON THE 31ST.

THE OUTLOOK FOR FAIRBANKS FOR OCTOBER FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION
CENTER CALLS FOR INCREASED CHANCES OF SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION.